Alabama’s Roy Moore, suspended, doesn’t want to leave

About a month ago, Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore was suspended from the bench following his effort to defy federal court rulings on marriage equality. It marked an ignominious end to a controversial legal career for the right-wing jurist.

Or at least, it was supposed to. Late last week, AL.com reported late last week that Moore is ignoring requests that he leave.

Suspended Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore says he did not respond to the acting chief justice’s request to clean out his office on or before Tuesday.

Acting Chief Justice Lyn Stuart sent a letter to Moore last week asking him to clean out his personal items and turn over his keys to the state judicial building in the wake of his recent conviction by the Court of the Judiciary on judicial ethics charges.

Moore, true to form, has said he intends to ignore the acting chief justice’s request because, as he sees it, she doesn’t have any authority in the matter. And so, Moore’s holding onto his keys and keeping his stuff in the office he’s supposed to vacate.

It’s the kind of move that might make things a little tricky going forward.To briefly recap, after Moore ordered Alabama’s probate judges to ignore the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on marriage equality, an inquiry began as to whether or not he “flagrantly disregarded and abused his authority.” The Alabama Court of the Judiciary ruled unanimously against him in September, suspending Moore from the bench without pay for the remainder of his term, and finding him guilty of six charges of violating the canons of judicial ethics.

Moore, whose term wasn’t set to expire until 2019, was told his suspension was effective immediately.

Moore intends to appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court – the body he’s led – but he wants the justices he thinks might rule against him to recuse themselves.